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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] “growth”

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: "John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>
  • To: "Healthy soil and sustainable growing" <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] “growth”
  • Date: Thu, 7 Nov 2013 22:50:35 -0000

Question : What makes GDP grow faster, a normal society humming happily away and where everybody has enough or a huge disaster killing hundreds, maiming thousands while destroying a mass of infrastructure and causing a local famine?

The answer is evident, a catastrophe is much better for economic growth than a happy normal. Think of the evacuation and mass transport needed to get victims to safety or hospital, emergency supplies being brought in and distribution regulated. Damaged buildings being torn down. The health industry working like mad and undertakers making gold. And then maybe rebuilding all that was lost.

Only in this case will an economy boom and as Vandana Shiva says it is anti-life. I think it is a general rule that growth goes together with destruction always.

What makes for faster growth? An oil tanker that reaches it's destination without problems or one that breaks up and pollutes the shoreline and the ocean and is definitely anti-life?
The last possibility of course. Many more people will get involved trying to clear up the mess. Fish and shell fish will get more expensive. Insurance premiums will go up and so on.

If we don't stop aiming for growth we may all get killed.

John

Subject: [Livingontheland] “growth”


Vandana Shiva: 'In effect “growth” measures conversion of nature into
cash, & commons into commodities.' Anti-life
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/01/how-economic-growth-has-become-anti-life?CMP=twt_gu




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